Kindergarten Requirements

I see no reason not to start her in kindergarten. I grew up in NY and the cut off was Dec 31. Someone will always be the youngest and someone will always be the oldest in the class. My brother and I both skipped a year in school and we were both 16 when we finished high school and 17 when we started college. We both had normal busy social lives in high school and college. I just would not worry.

She sounds ready for kindergarten to me. But I'm confused... why do you want to put her in kindergarten this coming year rather than have her do a year of preschool? Especially if I'm understanding correctly and you'll need kindergarten plus daycare?

My daughter's birthday is 9/13 and she just misses our cutoff of 9/1 also. I was happy to have her home another year and she is well prepared for Kindergarten. I like that she will be one of the oldest and think her being so prepared will give her confidence to know she will do well in school.

Our school has a web site and under the Kindergarten section they have a readiness checklist. I'd browse the web sites for the schools you are considering and if it's not available on-line, give the office a call they may be able to send you something. Here is the one for our school - just to give you an idea, I imagine they are all relatively the same.
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Many parents wonder “Is my child ready for kindergarten?” School readiness is very important for a successful beginning to a lifetime of learning. Here is a checklist for parents to help determine your child’s overall readiness for kindergarten.

*5 years of age on or before September 1st

Language Skills
Can be easily understood by others
Follows two step directions
Can tell full name
Orally identifies letters in name
Identifies likenesses and differences in pictures
Identifies simple shapes
Identifies basic colors
Listens with interest to a story
Answers simple questions A fire is hot: ice is___.
A plane is fast; A turtle is__.
Can tell the meaning of simple words like dress, boots, airplane, banana, sweater.
Begin to identify rhyming words
Asks questions about things around him/her
Can tell a story about a past event
Pretends to read books
Aware of environmental print (recognizes cereal box names, McDonald’s, stop signs, simple signs at stores, ect.)

Fine Motor Skills
Uses crayons, pencils and scissors appropriately
Attempts to write words
Can write own name using capital letter at beginning and lower case letters for the rest.
Can imitate a circle
Prints numbers 1-10
Uses glue and paste appropriately
Can stack at least 10 blocks
Folds paper in half
Able to fasten buttons
Put on own coat, gloves, shoes, hat

Cognitive Skills
Counts objects to 10 or more
Sorts objects by size, color, shape
Can retell a story
Can work for a short time independently
Put a 14 or more piece puzzle together
Understands to directions with positional concepts such as: out, in, off, top, bottom
Knows difference between a letter and number
Uses time concepts of yesterday, today and tomorrow
Completes a pattern of two colors
Draws person with 6 parts or more; head, nose, eyes, mouth, arms, legs, body
Can name many letters of the alphabet and some numbers
Names parts of the body

Gross Motor
Can play a simple group game
Gallops
Walk up and down stairs using alternating feet
Catches ball
Bounces ball
Can hop six feet
Enjoys different sports
Can ride tricycle

Social/ Emotional
Enjoys being part of a group
Plays and interacts with other children
Separates readily from mother
Accepts some responsibility
Enjoys dramatic play
Controls emotions
Uses words to solve problems when angry or frustrated
Can share and take turns
Do things for himself/herself (put toys away, take care of bathroom needs, hang up coat)

This checklist is designed to help you prepare your child for school. Readiness is a combination of experience individual growth and age. Not all children are ready at the same time. Encourage your child to master as many skills as they can before the start of school. YOU are your child’s first and most important teacher.

The K screening for the Catholic school is mostly to see where she is at academically. Rarely do they turn down a tuition opportunity! (Speaking from experience of 7 years teaching in a Catholic school) I would bet that she will do just fine! And bonus, she'll probably be reading by the end of the school year!

She is more than fine.

IF you opt to have her enter Kindergarten, public school, at 6 years old... bear in mind that some schools will put the child into 1st grade.
And, Kindergarten is not "mandatory" in many States.
IF you want your child to be 6 and be in Kindergarten, you have to put in a request to the school.

You need to find out from the public school, what are their Kindergarten age requirements, per being 6 years old and entering Kinder.

Just a thought---it sounds like your daughter may be ready academically for K. On the other hand, and if your school district doesn't offer Young 5's or and extended preschool....a word of caution. When she graduates from high school, she'll only be 17 years old and when she leaves home to go to college, she still is considered a minor. Just thinking. Good luck!

Just a thought--those kids that start K early will always be "behind" their peers in extracurricular activities--as most sports/groups go by age/birthday cut off--not the year they are in in school.

Well i am not sure about the area where you live if there are any pre-schools like here, but my daughter was 5 last June and was eligible to start K but I felt she was not emotionally ready though she could already read and was doing math, etc. So I sent her to a 5 yo preschool class for kids who were not starting K. Most of the kids were 4 turning 5 during the year, but some were 5 to start like my daughter and a few even turned 6. My daughter did not turn 6 until this summer. I plan to start her in first grade this fall. She is now emotionally ready for school and academically she is at a first grade level. she loved her class last year and they had an extended care program for those who had working parents and needed more than just the pre-school hours. If you can find a program like this in your area, I would highly recommend it. She could go to either a 4 yo pre-k class or a 5 yo pre-k class. Some schools combine them. This way you drop them off in the am, the teachers take them to their pre-k class at 9am, and go get them before lunch, and then you pick up after work. Just like a daycare, except they get 3 hours of pre-k. All our pre-schools here have the extended care option for before and after care. So I would think they would be in your area too. i would check into that.

Well, it sounds like she's ready academically, but only you can answer whether or not she's emotionally ready.

My 1st son's b-day is July 12, and while he knew each letter of the alphabet at the age of 2, I didn't feel like he was emotionally ready for kindergarten when he was 5, so we started him at 6, and he adjusted very well. There was never any issues with it because the other kids in his class were turning 6 all through the school year.

When he was 2, I worked as an aide in a 1st grade classroom, and the teacher said that some of the kids that started when they were 4 were still struggling some. I remember one of them was so smart- she could identify a Monet painting, and had no trouble with the work, but she had a hard time focussing the 2nd half of the day because she was so tired- she often had her head resting on the desk while trying to do her work.

Another little girl used to cry pretty easily, and I think she suffered a little socially from it. At first the girls all jumped in and tried to comfort her, but she did it so often, they eventually got tired of it.

This is not to say it doesn't work out fine for some kids. I think sometimes people assume intellectual readiness = kindergarten readiness, but not being ready emotionally can make for a bumpy ride.

We have a couple of pre-schools here that also serve as daycare- maybe something like that would work out for you, if you decide to wait for kindergarten.

Another option may be, if you work close to the preschool, maybe your boss would allow you to use your lunch break to pick your DD up from preschool, and bring her back to daycare.

In the end, you're the one who knows your daughter best, and know whether or not she is ready- go with your gut!!

Very best wishes!!! =o)

In our school district there is a pre-kindergarten program for kids that are beyond 4 year old preschool but maybe not quite ready for kindergarten. They have to meet certain criteria, such as a late birthday (between Sept.1 and Dec.1 - our cut-off is Dec. 1), socialization issues, etc. My friend is enrolling her twin boys in the Pre-K program because they don't turn 5 until Oct and she already knows there is no way they are ready for K (between being on the immature side and some minor speech issues). They will only have to go 1/2 days 5 days a week, as opposed to full day K (they already did a 4 year old preschool program that was 3 days a week this past school year). Is something like that an option where you live? Or would you consider a Montessori program, which groups different ages of kids together (i.e. 3 to 5) and teaches them at their own pace?

Sounds like she's ready to me! I attended catholic school and I think that the only reason she is being tested is to see where she is academically. Why are you so eager to start her in K if you are not even sure if she's ready or not. Save yourself some money and just find a daycare that has a pre-k program. Then next year she can start K in public school.

Hi, H.:

Don't worry. Your child will do fine.
If it doesn't work the way you want it, another
solution will appear.
Good luck.
D.

Do not send this child to kindergarden. she is too young for kindergarden in your statee. and she was a premie so she shoudl be even younger.

It doesnt matter what the requirements are she is too young. she will be the youngest in her clas an likely the smallest.

In michigan we have special preschool for 4 years olds FREE.. to help them get ready for kindergarden. it is for kids with a risk factor prematurity is a risk facotre. maybe you have something similar.

My daughters birthday is 9/25 and the cut off was 9/1. We were told she had to be seen by a psychologist to be excepted in the public school early. So we decided to send her to a Catholic school through 8th grade ( she is now 14) Looking back she had lots of struggles in math and reading, she has always been the youngest in her class, she won't drive until she is a junior, and will graduate at 17. If I had to do it again I would have definitely waited another year to start her in kindergarten.

I live in PA. I don't know what the requirements are if you are testing to get a child into kindergarten. When they're age appropriate there is no "requirement" as they will be taught what they will need. Remember, kindergarten is not a requirement for education. It's a prep for 1st grade. You could teach your daughter at home yourself, if you'd like.

I would suggest not pushing her to go, even though she does seem to know a great deal. There's more than academics. There's also being emotionally ready. My husband and I both were 4 when we started kindergarten. I was graduated at 17 and was cut loose to the world before I was ready. My husband was held back in 1st grade as he wasn't ready emotionally. I was always the youngest in my class and never seemed as "mature" as most of the other kids. I seemed to get along with the kids in the grade behind me more than my own grade.

My two older sons were spring babies so they were ready for kindergarten when they started at 5.5.

My triplets were born Oct 7. The cut off date for them was Oct 1. I was offered to test them out to get them into kindergarten. We discussed it and felt they were not ready. We didn't want them graduating at 17. Plus, one triplet wasn't academically nor emotionally ready. The other two were more than academically ready but not emotionally ready. They too were premature, two months. They finished kindergarten last month and did very well academically and emotionally. They'll be starting 1st grade in the fall. Although they may be the older kids in class I would rather have that than them being the younger ones experiencing things they're not ready for down the road.

I want you to think about the idea of your daughter repeating a grade, even kindergarten. It could make her feel poorly about herself and others may tease her. You never know.

Check some of the area high schools to see if they offer preschool programs. They are much cheaper and most are good programs. My trio attended that. I would check every possible place in your area for preschool programs including churches and such. I wouldn't push her into kindergarten due to convenience or inconvenience to you. Give her the extra year. She'll appreciate it down the road.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I wouldn't push it if i were you. Let her mature for another year. I have a son that just turned 5 and we're not even sending him to K this year...his maturity level just isn't there yet. it's much easier to wait now than it is to hold them back a year when they get older.

I was going to say look for a full day kindergarten (most daycares have them) in the area, but then realized her age would probably be a problem. I would ask, why rush kindergarten? If her age doesn't meet the cut off for schools, the date is there for a reason. Let her go next year! Most people worry about sending their child too early when he/she is close to the cut off. You don't really have a decision to make here. It has been made for you. If you send her to catholic school kindergarten, she still has to repeat the public schol kindergarten, so really, what is the point?

I know that I’ll be in the “send or don’t sent” mode in a few years as my toddler has an August birthday. So I’ve done quite a bit of research on this already and it seems like almost all moms who pushed K early wished they hadn’t and the ones that waited are glad they did. I haven’t heard ANY moms who waited said they wished they hadn’t waited. I say wait. She can still be your baby for another year. It’s crazy how fast they start growing as soon as real school starts. In general, she’ll do better as the oldest/biggest/smartest over her schooling career than being the youngest/smallest.

With our school district, there are NO exceptions to the bd cut-off!

My older son turned 6 in the 1st few weeks of KG. My younger son's bd was 4 days before the cut-off....& we actively chose to send him at age 6. Academically he was ready at age 5, but not able to stay focused on task.... prompting our decision to wait. He spent that next year in the Bridges program in our school district & excelled all thru the year. Interestingly enough, there was 1 girl in the class.....& all the rest were boys!

Academically, I believe your daughter is a.o.k.....or very close! My concern would be: in our area (mid-MO), the Catholic school is actually accelerated beyond our public schools. I know this because my BF's daughter was one year behind my older son. My son was public school, her daughter - Catholic, & they had the SAME curriculum. Soooo, that means your daughter will probably be bored with repeating KG next year! Something to think about....

Does your daycare not provide preschool? If not, then I would either continue her education at home....leaving her at the daycare for comfort's sake. If this is not an option, then I would look for a daycare which offers preschool programs. I think this is better than doing Catholic KG & then repeating it next year. I highly recommend meeting with the public school's principal & asking for suggestions. & as a head's up, a lot of parents believe their child is ready for KG before the age parameters......Peace.